1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure is generally directed to child soothing devices and other juvenile products, and more particularly to devices and products with audio functionality to soothe a child.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of products for infant children have incorporated audio functionality for entertainment and other purposes. Usually music or sounds are produced from a recording stored on electronics via a speaker located near the child. In some cases, the speaker is mounted near a seat occupied by the child. Examples of these types of juvenile products include swings and bouncers. Other products, such as play mats or pens, or playards, provide music or sounds via a speaker located near a play area occupied by the child. Still other products incorporate the sound production into an entertainment unit engaged by the child during play. The entertainment unit often includes an activity table or platform in which a speaker is disposed.
These juvenile products are often designed to provide the option of producing sounds that an infant or child would find soothing. Sounds commonly considered soothing include lullaby melodies, ocean waves, and the noises made in other nature settings, like chirping crickets or birds, a frog pond, etc. Some products have attempted to provide soothing sounds and noise geared specifically toward infant children. To that end, juvenile products have attempted to reproduce the sound of a heartbeat, the theory being that the infant is accustomed to the heartbeat sounds present in utero, or within the womb. The Lovin' Hug™ swing commercially available from Graco Children's Products, Inc., the assignee of this application, is one example of a juvenile product that attempts to produce a heartbeat sound in the interest of soothing the child occupant of the swing.
The quality of the sound production in past juvenile products has frequently been poor. In some cases, an interest in utilizing inexpensive audio system components has led to inaccurate reproduction of sounds. Lack of accuracy may, in turn, lead to inefficacy in soothing infant children accustomed to specific sound characteristics.